Providence metro unemployment declines to 3.1% in Oct.

PROVIDENCE METRO unemployment, not seasonally adjusted, declined 0.9 percentage points year over year to 3.1 percent in October. / BLOOMBERG NEWS FILE PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY
PROVIDENCE METRO unemployment, not seasonally adjusted, declined 0.9 percentage points year over year to 3.1 percent in October. / BLOOMBERG NEWS FILE PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY

PROVIDENCE – Unemployment in the Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area was 3.1 percent in October, not seasonally adjusted, a 0.9 percentage point decline year over year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday.

The metro area labor force grew 1.2 percent on a year-over-year basis to 692,775 in October, while the number of unemployed in the area declined 19.8 peercent to 21,714.

Unemployment rates were lower in October than the year prior in 272 of the 388 metropolitan areas measured by the BLS, higher in 95 areas, and unchanged in 21 areas.

Not seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls in the Providence metro increased 1.1 percent to 6,600 workers year over year in October.

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The 3.1 percent unemployment rate in the metro area was equal to the Rhode Island unemployment rate in October.

In the New Bedford metro area, unemployment declined 0.4 percentage points year over year to a not seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent in October. The civilian labor force increased 5 percent to 87,614 in that time, while the number of unemployed declined 4.2 percent to 3,639.

Nonfarm payrolls in the New Bedford metro increased 1.9 percent from October 2017 to 69,300 workers.

The unemployment rate in Massachusetts was 2.9 percent in October, 0.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. Email him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.

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